Casely’s cute cases make me want to join the club

These cases are cool, but without the subscription discount, they're a harder sell.

It's no secret that I well and truly love cute cases. After all, what sense is there in buying a beautiful phone when you're just going to shove it in some hideous black brick of a case? But cases can get stale, especially after carrying one all day, every day, everywhere. Not even I could afford the small mountain of Galaxy S10 cases that are sitting in my office — all but three of them are press samples — but I so enjoy being able to switch out cases when I get bored, or when I wear a coordinated outfit to the parks.

When I first heard of Casely, I wasn't sold on a subscription club that lets you pick a new case every month, and even more so I wasn't sure how protective its cases would actually be. After wearing two new Casely samples for the Galaxy S10 the last three weeks, I have to say that if I wasn't drowning in cases, I can see the appeal. While Casely isn't offering the case-of-the-month subscription for Samsung phones yet, the individual cases it's selling are still decent enough to stand on their own.

It's glow in the dark!!!!

Casely It's Just a Phase Marble Moon Case

First looking at this lunar case, I was scared it'd just be a hardshell case with no grip or protection, but this thin black case grips the S10 remarkably well and offers more than enough purchase on its sleek sides and printed back to keep the phone in your hand. The button covers here are small and a little stiff but still easy to use, and the in-hand feel is nice enough that I didn't feel the need to slap a phone grip on this case the second I applied it the way I feel with most cases these days.

After all, the printed design was pretty and I didn't want to cover it up, especially once I realized it glowed in the dark! Yes, there's still a 12-year-old hiding inside my hyper-distracted head, and she SQUEEEd the first time that crescent moon lit up the night.

I actually wore the "It's Just a Phase" case for almost a week before I found out it was glow-in-the-dark, riding the PeopleMover through Space Mountain's pitch darkness. In my defense, you need to either leave your phone face-down under a lamp or in a PhoneSoap to really charge up the ink before it really glows. When you do, though, the effect is beautiful and tends to last for about ten to fifteen minutes before fading.

In the name of the moon

It's Just a Phase Case

Slim, solid, and softly glowing in the dark, this case is fit for Sailor Moon fans and lunar lovers alike. It can take a few minutes to charge up, but glows beautifully.

$24 at Casely

Casely Bright Yellow Sunflowers Case

This clear case is a tiny bit thicker than the moon case, though both are classified as Classic cases in Casely's system. The Sunflower pattern printed on this case is very summery and held up well over the days I wore it, though I'm not really big on yellow so I didn't wear this case quite as long as the glow-in-the-dark.

The buttons are a little less stiff on the clear model, but it's also a hair more slippery. The inside of Casely's clear cases don't have the dot-matrix pattern on the inside, which means it doesn't interfere with the pattern printed on the outside. Unfortunately, it also means that when moisture and grease work their way inside, this case will get the "oil on asphalt" rainbowing splotches, so clean the case early and often.

Happy clear case

Bright Yellow Sunflowers Case

Sunflowers are much more fun than the roses and cherry blossoms we normally see patterned across clear cases, and yellow contrasts well with most all of the S10's colors.

$24 at Casely

If I could only pick one over the other, I'd go for the moonlit "It's Just a Phase" case, but the real beauty of Casely is the subscription club that lets you get a new case every month or every quarter. Unfortunately, Casely won't be offering subscriptions until at least the end of 2019, and by then, it'll almost be time for the Galaxy S11.

In the meantime, a là carte options have some fun options in a variety of styles, and more are being added every month. If you're tired of solid-color cases and predictable patterns, Casely is a fine alternative, and when (or if) the subscription comes along, it'll make for an enticing alternative to sifting through Amazon and trying to catch cute cases on sale.